http://www.ebay.com/itm/400998668620
This vintage hat was made by the John B. Stetson company in the 1960s. It is their Beaver One Hundred model, made from pure beaver felt, originally retailing for a hundred dollars. It has a lining from Rand’s of Billings, who probably did some cleaning or renovation at some point. It measures 21-1/2″ inside, about a 6-7/8″.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271577537059
In the 1950s and 1960s, Stetson’s top of the line hat was the Stetson 100, which cost a whopping hundred dollars at the time. For that money you got a hand crafted pure beaver Stetson hat in a leather presentation suitcase. This is one of those cases, in the smaller Open Road / Fedora size, as opposed to the larger cowboy hat size.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271306470121
This vintage fedora was made in the early 1960s by the John B. Stetson company. At that time, it retailed for $40. This was a time frame when the average fur felt Stetson sold for around $10. This was topped in the lineup by the 7X clear beaver Stetson, which sold for $50, and the Stetson 100, which sold for $100. Both the 7X and the 100 were “Clear Beaver Quality”, or undyed pure beaver. I have sold a number of these hats, and the felt on this one is nearly identical, with the important difference that it is dyed instead of a natural color.
The hat has Stetson’s “Mode Edge”, their version of the seamless welt Cavanagh edge, a process no longer available today. The hat has a wide ribbon and a wind string and is creased with a center dent and widely spaced front pinches. Inside, the hat has a black sweatband, stamped with the Stetson crest and the felt designation “Stetson Forty”. A slightly different crest, which came into usage in the early 1950s, is in gold on the liner. The hat was originally sold by the Pantke Harpke company of Milwaukee, WI.
Size: 7-3/8
Ribbon Width: 2″
Brim Width: 2-1/8″
Crown Height: 5-1/4″
